????資金緊張時期向最佳客戶尋求幫助，讓現金再次流動起來，這么做通常是最明智的方法。想方設法讓顧客支付未來12個月計劃購買的產品或服務，理想情況是一次性付清全年的費用。雖然這樣一來，你可能要為客戶的預付款提供折扣，但這種方式仍要勝過高息貸款。而當前大環境信貸緊張，高息貸款可能是許多公司除此之外唯一的選擇。

????沒錯，要求客戶預付款聽起來有些瘋狂，但不妨嘗試一下，不要輕易放棄。成功的創業者之所以成功，正是因為他們愿意提出其他人不會提出的要求。

????我之所以了解這種策略的效果，是因為我也曾遇到過現金流不足的情況。911事件之后，我的公司在一夜之間損失了一大筆收入。我請求17家最好的客戶預先向我支付當年的相關款項，結果他們都表示同意。而作為回報，我則在當年為他們提供一個固定不變的價格。

????此外，要密切關注現金流的管理，以免重蹈覆轍。創業的第一條鐵律就是，公司成長的過程也是消耗大量現金的過程。如果年比銷售額呈兩倍或三倍增長，公司很容易就會陷入資金不足的境地。【不妨讀一下2001年《哈佛商業評論》（Harvard Business Review）與此有關的一篇文章。】

????現金對公司的發展至關重要，所以公司領導者必須每天關注現金流情況。要求公司CFO或會計員每天早上匯報公司銀行賬戶中的現金，同時簡要解釋過去24小時現金的流入流出情況，以及未來24小時的現金流入流出預測。網上銀行可以讓現金流管理更加容易。如果不關注每天的應收賬款和應付賬款，麻煩很快就會找上門。相比研究損益表，日常現金流報告可以讓你更全面地了解自己公司的業務狀況。就我自己的情況而言，我過去簡直就像是客戶的銀行。

????任何行業的形勢均可能發生突變，因此建立強大的現金儲備應該是第一要務。吉姆?柯林斯《選擇成就卓越》（Great By Choice）一書中關鍵的一條經驗是，最成功的公司之所以能渡過難關，原因就在于它們的現金資產比率和現金債務比率往往是競爭對手的3~10倍。

????911事件之后的經濟衰退讓我徹底明白，我的公司需要更多現金儲備。微軟公司（Microsoft）發展初期，比爾?蓋茨認定，公司銀行賬戶中的資金規模應該足夠在沒有收入的情況下讓公司能夠繼續維持一年的運轉，我在自己的公司也采取了類似的做法。收到17位客戶預先支付的款項后，我將足以承擔公司全年開支的現金存入銀行，一直保持至今，這樣我便可以更加安心。沒有什么能比現金不足能更快地讓一名創業者變得蒼老。

????此外，我還密切關注公司的價格，意識到我們定價過低。后來，我們把價格提高了25%，公司的毛利潤由此增加了13個百分點。提高價格可以抵消為17家客戶提供折扣的成本。價格上漲并沒有讓客戶望而卻步，而且更健康的毛利潤也推動了公司的發展。當然，如果你要提高價格，就必須盡職盡責，為客戶提供的最好是他們不可或缺的產品或服務。（財富中文網）

????翻譯：劉進龍/汪皓

????When money is tight, turning to your best customers is often the smartest way to get cash flowing again. Look for ways to get customers to pay you up front for the things they are planning to buy in the coming 12 months, ideally for a whole year's worth of products or services at once. Even if you have to offer them a discount to pay ahead of time, it beats taking out a high-interest loan, which may be your only other option in today's tight lending climate.

????Yes, it sounds crazy, but don't talk yourself out of this approach before you try it. Successful entrepreneurs do well because they're willing to ask for things that others won't.

????I know this strategy works because I've been in this situation. My business suddenly lost a bunch of revenue overnight after 9/11. I asked 17 of my best customers to advance what they would spend with me that year, and they said yes. In return, I let them lock in that year's prices.

????Meanwhile, take a close look at how you're managing cash flow so this doesn't happen again. The first entrepreneurial law of gravity is that growth sucks cash. It's easy to run out of money if you're doubling or tripling sales year over year. (If you haven't already read the 2001 Harvard Business Review article on the subject, you should.)

????Cash is so critical that you should pay attention to it every day. Have your CFO or bookkeeper report on how much cash you have in the bank every morning -- with a brief explanation for what came in and came out in the last 24 hours -- and what's expected to come in and out over the next month. Online banking makes this very easy. If you're not paying attention to your accounts receivable and accounts payable every 24 hours, it's easy for trouble to sneak up on you. Getting daily reports on your cash flow can teach you more about your business than studying your P&L statements. In my own case, I found out how much I was acting as my customers' bank.

????Conditions in any industry can change in a heartbeat, so building strong cash reserves should be a top priority. One of the key lessons from Jim Collins's Great By Choice is that the most successful companies maintain 3x to 10x the ratio of cash to assets and cash to liabilities of their competitors, so they can weather storms.

????The recession after September 11 made me starkly aware that I needed more cash in reserve in my own company. During Microsoft's (MSFT) early days, Bill Gates decided that the company should keep enough money in the bank to be able to go a full year without revenue, so I followed his lead at my own company. After my 17 customers paid me in advance, I put enough cash to cover a year's worth of expenses in the bank -- and have kept it there ever since -- so I could sleep easier. Nothing ages an entrepreneur more quickly than being low on cash.

????I also took a close look at my prices and realized they were too low. By raising them 25%, I increased my gross margins by 13 percentage points. Charging more enabled me to cover the cost of discounting the services I gave to those 17 customers. My customers didn't balk at the increase, and the healthier gross margins allowed us to grow. Of course, you've got to keep up your end of the bargain if you raise prices. You've got to deliver something customers don't want to do without.